'The Simpsons' Co-Creator Terminally Ill, Leaving Fortune to Charity

Sam Simon is fifty-eight years old. He is a co-creator of 'The Simpsons' and also worked on such hit comedies as 'The Drew Carey Show' and 'Anger Management' with Charlie Sheen. He also has been diagnosed with terminal colon cancer and has mere months left to live. In the face of this sentence, Simon has announced that he intends to leave his entire fortune--no meagre sum--to charity.

Simon claims he's uncertain about the full sum of his accumulated wealth, but admits he still earns "tens of millions" from royalties off 'The Simpsons' alone, each and every year. Simon never married; he does not have any children. He has already taken care of his friends and family and feels his fortune would be best served in the hands of a charitable organization. This sort of generosity is an extreme rarity anywhere on Earth, but it's even more astounding coming out of Hollywood, which commonly exhibits the antithesis of the charitable spirit.

Simon has been a philanthropist his entire life. He previously founded the Sam Simon Foundation which feeds starving people and dogs. He has donated hefty sums to PETA, Save the Children and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. So should we expect one of these organizations to receive the windfall of his fortune after his tragic passing? Simon recently spoke with The Hollywood Reporter about his intentions:

"The truth is," Simon began, "I have more money than I’m interested in spending. Everyone in my family is taken care of. And I enjoy this." When asked if he is frustrated about his diagnosis, he shared the following:

"No. I don’t think that’s what karma is. It never crossed my mind. But I don’t think the spirit of Hollywood is such a spirit of generosity. I think people really begrudge giving. In New York, it’s like that. A lot of charities spend a million dollars on a fundraiser to make $15,000. It’s a social swirl. They do some great stuff and then — it’s called mission drift. It becomes more about the parties. You know, I’m not married, and I don’t have kids. I had an emergency operation when I was septic, and I really did come very close to dying. My colon cancer perforated my colon. When I woke up in the hospital, even though I did have a will, it did become that much more important to me to set this stuff up for the future. And the Rockefeller Foundation has consultants who have been amazing. We found fantastic trustees. It’s something that will be living after I’m gone."

Still, Simon isn't about to hand wads of cash to just any organization; the man knows philanthropy and isn't afraid to call out some groups that are doing the bare minimum to perpetuate their existence. "If you were donating to environmental causes for the past 20 years, do you think your money is doing anything?" Simon charged. "Because I don’t, and I used to support some conservationist stuff — Sierra Club, World Wildlife Fund. They’re treading water. Climate change is a big part of their problem. The environment has been destroyed, basically."

Doing this, finding the smaller charities who need support the most, who don't have the benefit of big publicity, takes a lot of time. Time he doesn't have. From what he said in the interview, it seems he's doing everything right. We don't know where the money will go; it will be distributed via trustees, and from his statement that it will be something that lives on when he's gone, it doesn't sound like he will just drop lump sums somewhere, but has set up something to evaluate causes and distribute the money over time.

It's great to hear that no only is he willing, and always has been, to share his material wealth, but also that he cares about where it's best spent. That really sounds like someone who is philanthropic because he cares, not because he wants to be applauded for it. It's a shame more financially blessed people aren't like him.

Anonymous

Message Posted On Aug 3rd, 2013, 1:20 pm

PETA? Serious? I couldn't think of a worse organization to give money. Cancer, we haven't got a real handle on that one yet, so screw 'um. Let's give the money to a bunch of attention-seeking hypocrites who care nothing about people. Do you have a pet? If so, PETA hates you. Besides, are you actually COMPLAINING about a millionaire feeding millions of dollars to which CHARITABLE organization? How greedy are you? Thanks Mr. Simon. And sorry. It's sad to see you go.

Loora

Message Posted On Aug 2nd, 2013, 4:19 pm

It's always the same organizations. Always cancer. Always the big attention grabbers. How about rheumatic diseases ? Most ppl don't even know what that really is. Most ppl don't know how badly children with rheumatic diseases suffer ... for their entire lives. This may sound harsh but for cancer victims there IS an end to the suffering, one way or another. For children with rheumatic diseases there isn't. They look forward to a life full of pain, lots of pain and slow (sometimes not that slow in fact) deformation of their joints and bones. And they get no help from charities, no media attention and no support from research because it's not lucrative. They get leftovers from cancer research, stuff that failed but could be repurposed so research money isn't completely wasted.

Anonymous

Message Posted On Aug 2nd, 2013, 12:43 pm

It should be spread out to those smaller grassroots charities that don't get the kind of attention as PETA, Greenpeace etc.. i am talking about those local Pet Shelters, or food banks that struggle to get and keep government funding he should employ several trusted people to personally visit these smaller places and talk to the people there and see what they need most like animal shelters may need more room or better fences
and food banks may need more trucks etc... these big charities already get plenty of money
it's all the little guys that pick up the slack or take care of the things that are glitzy or newsworthy enough that should deserve the money it is easy to raise money for things like Breast Cancer or whatever because there is already plenty of attention it's the things people forget because they have no personal connection to but things that still need to be considered that deserve to be helped out
I volunteer at a community centre and i see how they have to turn people away when they need help with food or paying their bills or furniture because the government has cut funding and they are a non-profit

Calero Level 1 (24%)Since: 21/Jul/13

Message Posted On Aug 2nd, 2013, 4:21 am

Simon almost makes you think there's hope for humanity, almost.

Anonymous

Message Posted On Aug 2nd, 2013, 1:48 am

Please not PETA, please not PETA. How many times does it require repeating to make it true?